Dauphinoise Potatoes

Sashk

I always par boil now. I made some the other week without par-boiling and had the spuds on the top of the oven on gas mark 5 for two hours and and then underneath for another two hours while I had a chicken roasting on top and they still came out raw!!! Made them again a couple of weeks later and par boiled them first came out great!

daska

Ok, just a little note, wash and dry the spuds before you peel them but don't wash the slices themselves, you want the starch to help bind the dish.

By scalding the cream I mean to heat it to the point that it's just starting to bubble around the edges i.e. not quite to boiling point.

Are you using a very heavy dish that takes a long time to warm through? That plus cold liquid could result in the cooking time being extended by quite a lot. Try warming the dish as well as the cream and the oven, or use a roasting pan (or even a victoria sandwich tin if you're only doing a small quantity).

rosie383

adamantine wrote: »

what do you mean by scald the cream? just bring it to boil and leave to infuse?

I just Googled this because I didn't know either. Apparently you just bring it to near boiling, until it starts to steam then turn it off.

A few of the recipes there are mentioning parboiling, but seem to be in their skins. May give that a go as I don't have a mandolin.
Daska I love the tip about putting the milk in first and then the cream on top..... makes sense but it would never have occurred to me!

Now I want to do this for dinner today, but actually got around to doing a meal plan and am determined to stick to it!

rachbc

I do them nigellas totally inauthentic way of boiling them IN the milk/ cream frist then tipping the whole lot in a dish and browning off

daska

You can pick up a mandolin for not very much - even our local shop has them for £7.50 and I've often seen them at car boot sales. If you love gratin dauphinoise it's a very useful gadget to have. Good for slicing courgettes as well.

I just took a look at the Jamie Oliver recipe recommended earlier, it's possibly not the one I was thinking of, it looks as if he puts the dish together in a roasting tin and then boils it on the hob (which would get it hot quickly!) before baking.

eleanor73

I've made it a few times without having a problem. I use a pyrex dish and it needs at least an hour and a half. Will definitely try some of your methods so it's a bit quicker though.

JulieM

I find they cook quicker in an oval shallow dish, rather than piled high in a smaller dish. I also take the dish out of the oven from time to time and gently tip it from side to side to move the liquid about.

Gorgeestwo

This is the recipe I use, its always worked really well, love dauphinoise potatoes
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/402620/dauphinoise-potatoes

adamantine

first time i used a pyrex dish but there was alot of layers. yesterday i used my la creust dish so there was only 3 layers. a few different tips to try out there then. best go buy more tatties lol.

luvvie

I've made these for years and I always microwave them first. I layer mine up in a pyrex dish or earthenware one (as long as it's microwave safe). I pour over the liquid (but I only put in half of what I would for cooking in a conventional oven, I save the other half) , whether it's stock or cream. Then I double or triple wrap the dish in cling film. I pierce the film, then microwave till the spuds are soft (usually takes 20-40 mins depending on the size of the dish I'm doing). Then I whip off the clingfilm put in the half of the liquid I save shove my grated cheese on top and whack it in the oven. Never fails to work!